Centre declares Srinagar airport as major airport

SRINAGAR — In a significant development, the Government of India on Saturday declared Srinagar airport as a major airport.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation today issued a notification to declare the airport of Srinagar as a major airport under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Act 2008.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (i) of section 2 of the Airports Economic Authority Act, 2008 (No. 27 of 2008), the Central government hereby declares the airport of Srinagar as major airport,” reads the notification, a copy of which is available with news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

With this move, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) will determine tariff for aeronautical services at Srinagar airport.

The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) was set-up to regulate tariffs and other charges (development fee and passenger service fee) for aeronautical services at major airports.

As per Section 13 of the Act, AERA has been mandated to determine the tariff for the aeronautical services rendered at major airports; the amount of the development fees including user development fee; and the amount of the passengers service fee levied under Rule 88 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 made under the Aircraft Act, 1934.

Under the AERA, the Centre can designate an airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 35 lakhs. For the non-major airports, these tariffs are determined by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is a body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The Central government is also empowered to designate any airport as a major airport through a notification.